Not All Who are Lost must Wander
by ButterySalt
Summary: This Archer seems much different from the others... (oneshot)


To think, that he'd meet his end here…

"Even you, Cass?" He coughed, as blood dripped from the mask. Betrayed, yet again.

"We have to stop you, Six. This has to end." He glanced at the corpses that were strewn about in the sand, as his vision began to fade.

"I guess… It's my turn to be the villain."

"Servant, Archer. Are you my master?" He stared at the fuming girl, and at the broken couch.

"I'm gonna have to pay for this, aren't I."

"No. You're going to fix this, right now."

"Now look here, missy. The Courier of the Mojave isn't gonna bend ass over just to fix some damn girl's couch-" She snapped.

"By the power of my command seal, I command you to fix my couch!" His eyes widened behind the visor.

"MOTHERFUCK-"

After she had forced him into repairing her couch (much to his irritation) She wanted him to go and scout the entire city for other servants.

Not that he actually would, anyways. He'd hit up one of the bars the moment he'd been released, as he bought himself some drinks.

"Oi, you there laddie!" The Courier glanced to his left, at a rather strangely garbed man also drinking.

"Have a drink on me. You look troubled."

"Thanks." He gulped and slammed it back down, much to the shock of the other man.

"Are you irish? I've never see anyone else who can-"

"Nope. Just been drinking for a long time and grew a large tolerance for it." he finished his drink.

"Another one." The bartender frowned.

"Sir, do you even have the money-" He materialized one of the gold bars he took from the Sierra Madre, and slammed it down on the counter.

"I'm paying for everyone here tonight. Now give me a drink." The bartender quickly nodded, as he began to serve as many shots as the Courier could slam onto the table. The other man simply stared in shock and stood.

"How the hell-"

"C'mon, boy! Let's fuckin go!" He gestured for the other man to drink, as they began a drinking contest-

And then a woman barged in, and spotted his drinking buddy.

"Lancer! What are you doing? Get over here now!" She scolded, as the Courier froze.

"Wait, the fuck? You're a servant?" Lancer paused, and stared.

"Wait, then you-" The Courier raised his hands.

"Woah. Wait, If we're doing this, it's outside of the bar." The Courier cracked his knuckles as he grinned.

"Just to warn you; I don't play fair."

Lancer, grinned, as the two servants disappeared in a flash towards an open field.

They reappeared in a flash; Lancer wielding a spear, while the Courier brandished an massive rifle, a muzzle break attached onto the end.

"Nice spear. Compensating for something?" Lancer chuckled.

"I could say the same for yourself." Lancer slid into a stance, as the Courier grinned.

"Well then. Let's have at it."

Lancer sprung into action at inhuman speeds; but the Courier's legends made his servant enhancements even stronger.

Especially when one was having your entire body become mechanical, and another was VATS.

The entire magazine was fired in rapid succession; as Lancer managed to ping several off of his spear to block them off, and the Courier tsked.

"Damn. Nice moves." The Courier dematerialized the rifle and two sub machine guns materialized in his hands, as he dual wielded the weapons.

"But try and block this." the sheer amount of bullets began to push Lancer back; and so, Lancer charged forward, spear ready to stab;

Only to find himself blocked by the extended Ripper the Courier had materialized, as the visor glared red in the dark.

"Heh. Not bad." Lancer backed off, spear still poised as the Courier entered a stance.

"But this is it." The spear was poised, ready to be thrown as the Courier tensed from the sheer killing intent.

"I didn't think that I'd have to do this already, but-" The Courier grinned manically as the pipboy entered overtime, and prepared for it's massive use.

"GAE-" He poised-

"BOLG!" And the spear was thrown. The Courier was already dead-

Or, he would have been, had he still had a heart.

The spear struck the Courier, who gave a grunt as it entered his chest.

And then he promptly stood, and pulled the spear out as an auto-injector injected him with a stimpak, the cursed wound rapidly healing with the power of science.

"Fuck your magic." Lancer's eyes widened as the Courier chucked the spear-

And began to fire gauss rounds left and right, as he materialized and dematerialized the rifles again and again. Lancer barely escaped from the field as the gauss rounds hit with pinpoint accuracy, and would have taken off his head had his spear not protected him.

"*Hic* Fucking coward." He stumbled, as he looked at the new scar on his already heavily scarred chest.

"*Hic* Guess I'm going to have to replace this one as well." He sighed, as he turned towards the exit-

And spotted an irate master glaring at him and the craters in the field.

"Awww…. Fuck."

Rin Tohsaka dreamed of peace.

She watched as he went through a Holy Grail War, with figures that she recognized; Herself, the girl from before, and her estranged sister, Sakura;

His acceptance to become a Counter Guardian, as he killed more and more innocents, betrayed by his ideals;

and was promptly thrown into the post-apocalyptic world known as the Wasteland, as he remembered his original purpose once more, and began to save people yet again, while searching for a way to his former servant, Saber-

And of his explorations in the wasteland, as he continued to fight in a harsh, terrifying world with the sole purpose to save people;

In some ways, A Hero of Justice to many.

He freed the slaves and brought them to a place called the Lincoln Memorial, and was given the name 'The Great Emancipator of the Wastes';

And of how he had made many friends, that along the way separated to their own ways;

Of how he finally found a home with a group of soldiers called the 'Brotherhood of Steel', and stayed with them for several years-

Until he was ousted as a traitor and became an outcast, after the assassination of Sarah Lyons and his framing of the murder.

And thus, ended the tale of the Lone Wanderer-

And began the tale of the Courier, the Demon of the Mojave.

"So, Master. What do you want me to do?" the Courier, or Archer, as he was now, stared lazily at his master on the repaired couch.

"After your recent reckless actions, Archer-" She glared daggers at him, and he shrugged.

"I've decided to just have you guard me for now. I want you to look for anything unusual around the school. AND in spirit form." He paused.

"I can't go into spirit form. I can go invisible, however." He materialized a stealth boy, and activated it.

"What-"

"Boo." His master fell backwards, ass first as she panicked.

"heh. Gotcha." She apparently managed to see a flicker of him, and smacked him. Hard.

"Ow…."

"Stop messing around, and get ready to go. I have to get to school." She scolded, as he sighed.

He hated babysitting….

Rin Tohsaka dreamed of Death.

She watched the Courier get shot, and lowered into a shallow grave;

Only to be dug out an hour later, still alive and kicking.

She watched as he continued to save people, Living his beautiful dream;

As he saved an entire nation and the Mojave, killing and killing again and again and again-

And of the hell had had caused, the divide between him and the very people he protected, as they called for his death-

And his acceptance, as the people he fought alongside; the very people he trusted-

Shot him in the back and left him to die alone.

"A Hero of Justice? Don't make me laugh." The Courier fired his revolver at Shirou, and the boy gurked as he stumbled backwards.

"A Hero of Justice is nothing but a glorified killer, who kills and kills and kills until you forget everything; your name, your family, and who you are as a person." Another shot struck the boy in the kneecap, as the boy attempted to trace his blades to fight back.

"I refuse! I'll never become like you!"

"Then let me show you. The final goal of what you'll reach, as you stand atop that mound of corpses and dirt." Sand and dust erupted from around the Courier in a ten foot radius, as everyone was blown back from the sheer power he radiated.

"I am the bone of my sword."

"I have fought an eternity for what was never mine-"

"My whole life was Unlimited Divide Works."

The reality marble threw them into what could be literally described as a hellhole;

What could have been a thriving city in the past was utterly obliterated by what appeared to be a nuclear exchange, as figures shrouded in sand stumbled past, their flesh ravaged, unrecognizable other than their clothing and the sheer hatred on their face as they saw the Courier.

"MURDERER!"

"TRAITOR!"

"YOU DID THIS!"

The revolver rose and shot the apparitions, as they collapsed back to the ground.

 ** _I am the bone of my sword._**

"This world is what defines me, Emiya Shirou! What will define you should you go down this path! Branded as a traitor, you will be forgotten by your friends as you Kill and kill and kill!"

 ** _Steel is my body and fire is my blood._**

Shirou scrambled backwards as he glanced at the ground. It was littered with what must have been things that held significant memories; Sakura's ribbon, slightly torn and dusty but well kept, A red jewel that had been turned into a necklace; various other items everywhere, of things from the future as well.

 ** _I have fought an eternity for what was never mine._**

"Archer…."

"You were merely taken by the ideals of your father, who dug you out of hell to only throw you into another! You own nothing but his ideals, ideals that are not even yours!" Shirou ducked into a crater as the Courier materialized a minigun, spraying at the boy in full auto.

 _ **Never once retreating, Yet never advancing.**_

"SHE'LL NEVER COME BACK! SHE'LL NEVER RETURN!"

 _ **Withstood time, waiting for one's arrival.**_

The Courier jumped into the crater, kicking him in the gut as the ripper bit into him, roaring as it ripped him apart inside. The body landed in a heap several meters away, as Shirou witnessed everything; from Archer surviving until the End of the World, continuing in his quest to become a Hero of Justice as he chased after Saber-

Of how he killed hundreds, all in the belief that it was for the best and that none should have to bear the burden;

And how in the end, he was betrayed by his close companions, as he was killed and became Alaya's Counter Guardian, returning and slaughtering all those that he sought to protect as he screamed inside-

And of how he finally ended up in that war-torn view of the world,, surrounded by the corpses of his friends and of those he failed in a neverending nightmare.

 _ **There are many regrets. But This is the only path.**_

And yet, there was the beautiful dream; the dream to save people for the sake of saving, a dream that wasn't wrong-

"My whole life was Unlimited Divide Works."

"SHIROU!" Archer turned around, as he gazed at the rising sun.

"Well, my bad Rin. It seems that I couldn't get you the grail you wanted." He shrugged.

"Archer… Form a contract with me." He sighed.

"Rin, you can't. Besides, my purpose here is over. I don't have anything to do here." He gave a small, sad smile.

"In some ways, my wish did come true."

"But if I don't, you- You'll never be saved-" He whipped around in surprise, and gave a sigh and smiled.

"Rin." She looked up, as she saw the same goofy smile on his now helmet less face as he grinned.

"I leave myself to you. As you may know, I tend to make stupid choices sometimes."

"Ok. I promise I'll make sure. I'll make sure he won't go down the same path as you. Archer, please-"

"Rin." He looked as if he was finally at peace; as he gave the first genuine smile, one he hadn't done for hundreds of years.

"Thank you." The wind picked up, as the prana keeping him together blew him away, into the sky.

 _He Wasn't Wrong._

He stood up, as he made his mind, making his way towards the bottom of the hill as he ignored the screams of the vengeful, of those he had wronged.

 _He Wasn't Wrong._

The rubble eventually cleared, as he was eventually surrounded not by concrete, but by thick swathes of trees and bushes.

 _He Wasn't Wrong._

It opened up to a field of grass, as he finally spotted her in the middle, as he let go of his weapons for the first time in centuries. After all these decades, centuries of endless bloodshed, he had finally remembered-

"Saber, I'm home." He sobbed, as she gave him a brilliant smile.

"Welcome home, Shirou."

What he had been fighting for.

 _ **I am the bone of my sword.**_

 _ **Steel is my body and fire is my blood.**_

 _ **I have fought an eternity for what was never mine.**_

 _ **Never once retreating, Yet never advancing.**_

 _ **Withstood time, waiting for one's arrival.**_

 _ **There are many regrets. But this is the only path.**_

 _ **My whole life, was Unlimited Divide Works.**_


End file.
